11- Scream from within

Gabriel's eyes snapped open, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. The scream still echoed in his mind, haunting him. Alex and Ryan's concerned faces hovered above him, their eyes filled with worry.

"Dude, are you okay?" Alex asked, shaking Gabriel's shoulder. "You were screaming like crazy."

Gabriel rubbed his temples, trying to shake off the vivid nightmare. "What... what happened?" he stammered.

Ryan's expression turned serious. "You were having a bad dream, man. You've been asleep for hours."

Gabriel's mind reeled as he struggled to recall the details of his dream. The desolate land, the disappeared creatures, and the haunting scream – it all felt so real. He looked up at Alex and Ryan, his eyes searching for answers.

Gabriel's eyes widened as he stared at his pyjamas, now stained with the eerie black coppery dust. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he scrambled out of bed, his mind racing with questions.

"What the...?" Gabriel trailed off, his voice laced with confusion and concern. He looked up at Alex and Ryan, hoping they might have some explanation.

Alex's eyebrows were furrowed, his expression puzzled. "Dude, I have no idea what that stuff is. You didn't have it on you when we went to bed."

Ryan's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the dust. "This looks like... I've seen something like this before. In my engineering texts."

Gabriel's eyes locked onto Ryan's, his heart pounding with anticipation. "What is it?" he pressed, his voice barely above a whisper.

Gabriel's eyes widened in shock as he took in the state of his bed. The once-pristine white sheets were now torn, stained, and covered in the same black coppery dust that coated his pyjamas. It looked as if a fierce battle had been waged on his bed, with feathers scattered everywhere and the mattress slashed in several places.

Alex whistled softly, his eyes scanning the destruction. "Dude, what happened here? It looks like a war zone."

Ryan's expression was grim, his eyes locked onto the damage. "This isn't just random destruction, guys. This looks... deliberate."

Gabriel's mind reeled as he struggled to remember what had happened. He had gone to bed, and then... the dream. The scream. The desolate land. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog. What was going on?

Alex and Ryan exchanged a skeptical glance, but as Gabriel began to recount his dream, their expressions transformed from doubt to fascination. Gabriel's words poured out in a rush, as if he was desperate to unburden himself of the vivid, disturbing images that still lingered in his mind.

"...and then I saw the land, Eldrida, I think it was called. It was desolate, barren, and dark. The creatures that lived there were gone, and the people... they were in agony. I heard a scream, a baby's scream, and it was so heartbreaking. But the weirdest thing was, I didn't realize it was my own scream until you guys woke me up."

As Gabriel finished speaking, Alex and Ryan looked at each other, their faces pale. They couldn't dismiss the sincerity in Gabriel's eyes or the tangible evidence of his bed's destruction. The black coppery dust coating Gabriel's pyjamas and bed sheets seemed to be a physical manifestation of his dream.

Ryan took a step forward, his voice barely above a whisper. "Gabriel, we believe you. But what does it mean? Was it just a dream, or is something more going on?"

As Ryan and Alex departed, they couldn't shake off the feeling that something extraordinary had occurred. Despite the incredulity of Gabriel's tale, they had witnessed the physical evidence of his ordeal – the ravaged bed, the black coppery dust, and Gabriel's own shaken demeanor.

Their minds buzzed with questions: What was Eldrida? What had happened to Gabriel during his dream? And what did it all mean?

As they left Gabriel to rest, they exchanged a knowing glance. They had always been a tight-knit trio, and now they were bound together by a shared secret – a secret that hinted at a world beyond their own, a world that was both fascinating and unsettling.

The shower's soothing water enveloped Gabriel, washing away the physical remnants of his dream, but the memories lingered, haunting him. Despite his exhaustion, he knew that he wouldn't be able to shake off the feeling that his dream had been more than just a dream – it had been a glimpse into a reality that was waiting for him, just beyond the edge of his mundane world.

The weight of having his friends believe him was a huge relief for Gabriel. He had been afraid of being ridiculed or thought of as crazy, but instead, Ryan and Alex had shown him empathy and understanding.

Their belief in him validated his own experiences, making him feel less isolated and more confident in his own perceptions. He realized that he didn't have to face the mystery of his dream alone; he had his friends to support him, to help him unravel the truth.

With this newfound sense of camaraderie, Gabriel felt a sense of hope and determination. Together, they would uncover the secrets of his dream, and perhaps, discover a new reality that lay beyond the ordinary world they knew.